Shooting Stars

and earthly angels, stars themselves because we are all made of stardust

Photo by Ali Karimiboroujeni on Unsplash

I was barely old enough to drink alcohol legally, and I was already married with one child. 

A few years of college had come and gone, without any tangible career direction apparent, so I didn’t enroll for my third year. All I knew was that I wanted to marry Mike and start our family.

After Megan was born, we were living sparsely off of my husband's income as an apprentice electrician so we could give Megan her first year of life with a full-time mom at home with her. 

My greatest joy was being her mom, breast-feeding her for almost all of her first year. I can still see her big, gorgeous eyes looking deeply into my soul as she drank from my breasts. 

Trust. Dependence. Devotion.

We were barely keeping our heads above water financially, so I went back to work shortly after celebrating her first birthday. I could type, and had office skills I had earned as a work/study student in college and my first office job I had up until Megan was born. Basic skills would get me a start somewhere.

Starting was easy for me. Even back then, I welcomed change. I applied at a temp agency and was soon placed in a job that I loved, in a construction management firm where I was the only woman employee. I learned that I enjoyed working in an office, and was grateful I didn’t have to waitress like my mom did. And God, I was young.

TOM

My boss, Tom, was a kind and energetic leader. He encouraged my growth. I was promoted to office manager within a year. He thought I had potential in the same program at Western he had graduated from, a construction management program. As a woman in a primarily male-oriented industry, I could stand out. 

The next month, our division was dissolved by the parent company and all our jobs were gone. I didn’t see that coming, nor did I pursue that college program. 

Paths not taken are as pivotal as those taken.

However, Tom showed me that I could be a leader, and as a young woman that was a foreign concept.. 

JUDY

I went to work for another company right away, where I met a lovely woman named Judy, who befriended and mentored me. Judy, in marketing, was sassy and smart – a strong woman who loved politics and words. I saw in her what was merely a whisper in me – a seedling that was being planted and nurtured.

A pattern was forming. People I respected showed me I offered something valuable  – what I couldn’t recognize in myself without them. I lapped up praise like a kitten does cream.

PEGGY

At my next job, I met Peggy. Her bouffant hair was bleached blonde, swirling in an upward bun leaning heavily to the right side of her head. She had long, pointy, painted fingernails. Her tiny frame was compact and her sense of style unique and on point. 

In this office setting, Peggy was a target because of her style choices and her odd ways. She was unafraid to be different, which was a phenomenon (and a model) to me then.

I admired her for the same reason others didn’t. She was mystical, her spirit shining through her every word. Peggy didn’t seem bothered by what others said or thought about her. She was the first person I had ever met that was willing to fully embrace her creative, authentic self.

And she predicted things, with a deeper knowledge of situations, decisions, and next actions. I found myself fascinated, hanging on words that dripped with magic. At the time, my younger self wasn’t aware of soul, spirit, or consciousness – but I knew Peggy was a special being.

When I decided to leave that job, Peggy pulled me aside on my last day. She presented me with a small, white box. In it was a star-shaped, curvy edged, golden broach.

It wasn’t the gift that stole my breath away,

It was her gently spoken words, the fire in her sparkling blue eyes almost otherworldly. 

“You are a star. You don’t know this yet, and you will someday. Take this along your path, in case you ever need reminding.”

I have never forgotten the gift she gave me that day – her ability to see my unrealized potential – and that star broach has been with me since. 

Mentors and teachers and angels showed up for me the rest of my career, in almost every job I took. I went on to lead teams and departments, and eventually started my own life/business coaching practice which I operated for 16 years. I’ve had a rich and rewarding work life, in large part due to the people who acknowledged who I was for them over the years.

My current chapter of work involves fully nurturing my creativity. I’ve been making visual art, teaching creative workshops, and writing stories from my life. Angels are appearing.

My written work is seeped in truth-telling. I’m mining stories from my life, remembering things I couldn’t access before now. A life-long learner, I’ve been immersing myself in writing groups – where miracles happen. 

JANET

I have been amazed by the quantity and quality of words the other writers in my group produce in a short 13-minute time frame – inspired, intimidated, awestruck – and said so to them one Sunday during class.

A few days later, one of them, Janet, kindly sent me this note:

Charrise,

This tiny gem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer "One on the Fourth of July" made me think of you and what appears to be your awe that other people can produce a whole crap-ton of words in 13 minutes. RWT wrote:

“more special

than a whole sky of fireworks --

one long shooting star”

You, my dear, are a shooting star.

I immediately thought of Peggy and the beautiful synchronicity of Janet’s words.

This is what I know for sure. There are no accidents. My path is mine, and mine alone. Earthly angels visit me at every turn, if I notice, lighting the way like the stars we are.